2018 May English Journal, v107.5

Description

Issue Theme: Embracing Enduring Tensions in English Education

Call for Manuscripts

From the EditorJulie Gorlewski

High School Matters: Building Literate Identities on What Already ExistsVaughn W. M. Watson; Dan BrunoAbstract: Members of the Secondary Section Steering Committee comment on topics of importance to English language arts educators.

EJ in Focus: Embracing Enduring Tensions in English EducationLeila Christenbury and Lisa ScherffAbstract: With more intentional connections to the classroom and more explicit modeling of how teacher preparation and teacher reality can intersect, we are closer to addressing the spaces of struggle that mark the heart of inquiry.

Teaching without Talking (or, Houston, We Have a Tension)Matthew BourjailyAbstract: This article explores a lesson that, with virtually no guidance from the teacher, enhances student independence, engagement, and insight.

Erase the Space: Short Distance Writing Exchanges and Public Discourse in the High School English ClassroomDerek BurtchAbstract: The polarization in American culture illustrated in deteriorating public discourse has been front and center since the 2016 election season, but these tensions have been brewing longer. Writing exchanges between different schools can be part of the solution.

Tackling Teacher Lack of Knowledge When Reading Cross-CulturallyJacquelyn J. ChappelAbstract: Teachers’ lack of knowledge of other cultures is a major obstacle in teaching world literature. This article offers the experiences of three teachers teaching the Bhagavad Gita and suggests ways to overcome lack of teacher knowledge when reading cross-culturally.

Reducing Fear with Recitations: Improving Public Speaking through PoetryJennie L. HannaAbstract: While the value and importance of helping adolescents learn the art of public speaking is clear, it can be a difficult subject to teach. This article shows how public speaking skills can be interwoven with poetry analysis by participating in the Poetry Out Loud program.

The Pendulum of Standardization: An English Journal RetrospectivePamela Neal LindstromAbstract: This piece explores historic trends in the standardization of English education. Beginning with the advent of NCTE in 1912 and continuing through the subsequent century, the article traces how English Journal has documented educators’ approaches and attitudes concerning standardization.

To Correct or Not Correct: Confronting Decisions about African American Students’ Use of Language Varieties in the English ClassroomTanji Reed MarshallAbstract: English is a naturally variant and fluid language inseparable from culture. The author addresses the tensions teachers face in the classroom when they make decisions about how African American students should use their language.

Learning and Writing What MattersTom RomanoAbstract: Teachers can often point to indelible educational moments that influenced them in their journey to become literacy teachers. Teachers can help their students to such experiences that lead them to discover intellectual passions and further their growth and development as language users.

In Praise of the UnfinishedBenjamin Schwartz and Jeffrey SchwartzAbstract: The authors examine writing process using the concept of “unfinished” from a groundbreaking art exhibit in 2016 and discuss how teaching writing as “unfinished” can deepen student learning, including an authentic culminating exam.

Exploring Survival: A Student-Led Unit in the Seventh-Grade English ClassroomEmma SmithAbstract: Throughout a unit of study about survival, students and their teacher engaged in individualized learning. Discussions of teacher-dictated curriculum versus student-driven learning, design of the unit, and students’ and teacher’s experiences and takeaways from the unit are included.

Carpe Librum: Seize the (YA) Book: Intersectional Identities from the MarginsVictoria Singh GillAbstract: This column serves as a space dedicated to conversation about Young Adult Literature and to celebrate adolescents, their reading, and their experiences by reviewing the texts that engage them.

Under Discussion: Teaching Speaking and Listening: Promoting Social Justice: Rehearsing Discussion Leadership in a Young Adult Literature CourseLisa M. BarkerAbstract: This column seeks to provide a forum in which we can lean on each other to investigate and improve the quality of our classroom discussion leadership.

Soft(a)ware in the English Classroom: Bank on ItMarcia Bundy SeaburyAbstract: “Soft(a)ware in the English Classroom” seeks to identify the ways in which our teaching and learning lives are influenced by software.

Carpe Librum: Seize the (YA) Book: #BlackLivesMatter: When Real Life and YA Fiction ConvergeTricia Ebarvia, Kimberly Parker, and Pauline Skowron SchmidtAbstract: This column serves as a space dedicated to conversation about Young Adult Literature and to celebrate adolescents, their reading, and their experiences by reviewing the texts that engage them.